Winnipeg students say why they love their city; high on the list: ‘No Rob Ford’

It's this time of year that Winnipeg tends to need a little extra love.

The Manitoba capital has already survived a winter's worth of bitter weather, not to mention the out-of-province teasing that goes with its notorious chill. And unlike other parts of the country, where the end of February means we can start dreaming of warmer days ahead, their finish line is barely in view.

Which is why it was nice to see an article in the Winnipeg Free Press on Wednesday celebrating what children love about the city. Even if the overwhelming response seemed to be, "I love Winnipeg because Rob Ford isn't our mayor."

Humour columnist Doug Speirs sought to answer the question of what makes Winnipeg great by asking a Grade 6 class to write brief letters answering the question.

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These are average children living 1,500 kilometres west of Canada's biggest city and its controversial mayor. Yet even they appear to be a part of the massive political cabal out to get Ford.

"My first reason is our mayor is not Rob Ford, otherwise it would be political chaos," a child named Emerson told Speirs in his letter. "Number 2: We have amazing snowmobel, hockey and scateing, way better than Hawaii that's for sure. We also have the worst football team! It brings us all toegether to watch our team epicly loose."

Added Bela, "Our mayor isn't Rob Ford; we drink the most coffee; we're not stuck with Justin Beiber; we play the most hockey; we love Slurpees; we have a nickname -- Winterpeg."

Said Chris, "So you might not want to come to Winnipeg because it's like Antarctica here, but there are valid reasons to come here, and even live here! So for starters WE DON'T HAVE ROB FORD AS MAYOR!"

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A couple other children identified a lack of Rob Ford among the best things about Winnipeg, but others got more to the point.

The Winnipeg Jets were a big reason why the class loved their city, while Nicoletta celebrated the city's unique restaurants and festivals (The Festival du Voyageur is amazing).

Several children said the cold weather (snow forts!) was what makes Winnipeg great.

Now, it seems Speirs may have mentioned Ford during his visit to the class, so that may have prompted a few authors to include him on their list. But they clearly know who he is, and not in a favourable light.

All things equal, I’d rather celebrate Winnipeg for its restaurants and snow forts than its lack of Rob Ford. It is also home of Jennifer Jones and her gold medal-winning curling team. There’s plenty to love about Winnipeg.

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